We Go On
by TheRedhood908
Summary: The Mariner knows she will die. After all, she has been living on time that wasn't fully hers. Not even really living just existing. Until he comes along. But can she let him hurt? Is her happiness for her remaining years worth his pain? He certainly seems to think so.


It was less foggy than normal today. Nobody thought that was a bad thing it was simply strange. In fact many people were downright happy about it. It didn't take much for the citizens of far Harbor to be happy about a small break. In fact it wasn't often that they had gotten any breaks. The crumbling pier jutting out into the Atlantic ocean was the last bastion of humanity that existed on the island and the group was more than happy to keep it that way.

With the synths in Acadia and the Children of Atom Cultists right outside their door they knew they had to stand together or hang separately so here they were, ecking a living out of fishing and some light farming. Though truthfully some things had been made better recently.

The reinforced steel of the Azalea, a ship crashed on the coast had been a huge help in protecting the citizens of their little makeshift town from any further gulper attacks. The mirelurk carapaces had been further additions. Everywhere one looked there was a change. Cassie Dalton was happier, no longer brooding about the island having taken her family, Mitch at the Last Plank was happy to have his uncle back within the relative safety of the Town and even little Bertha seemed to be doing better, seeing as how she was now practically running her own settlement.

The red death was no longer wreaking havoc, though nobody knew the truth about the little mirelurk that had caused so much trouble for ships.

Andre Michaud was back and working on whatever it is he was working on. The man was rather secretive but less secretive was the happiness that seemed to now emanate off of Old Longfellow. The formerly grumpy old man was….well still grumpy but much more willing to help out his home than he had been before, the man much more at ease with loosing his wife to the children of Atom.

All things were going right on this rotting deck full of surly people. They had food, water and protection. Everything that a person needed to thrive. Then why was the Mariner only more and more agitated?

The Mariner owned this dock. It was left to her by her late father and right before the old man died the fog pushed all the settlers out of the mainland, forcing them to land on her property and having no other opportunity they begged her for shelter. Her first impulse had been to turn them away but, she saw children within the group and despite her suffering at the moment she knew her father would want her to do the right thing. So she did.

She let them in under the condition that they help repair parts of the dock, working just as hard as her to build up the place until it could withstand an organized trapper raid at the very least. They had agreed and soon enough they even had the workings of a government.

While all this was happening outside, the banging of hammers and the erection of shelters, the Mariner grabbed her father's hand and watched as she coughed up more and more blood knowing that there was nothing she could do. Her family had all had this disease and even though she desperately searched through all the available medical information on the island but found only one thing. What her father had was incurable even in the golden age before the bombs fell. Nobody lived past thirty with this sickness and it was amazing that her father had lived well into his sixties. She knew, knew that she would die the same way. After all she had all the same symptoms as her father. Crippling back pain, dizziness and insomnia. What she didn't know was when it would come.

So while she allowed them to settle into the docks and make their home there, she never got close. It would only be more painful. She buried her father and moved on, waiting for her time.

She didn't want to die. Sometimes, when nobody was around, she would sob, then unfairness of it all eating away at her. Why wouldn't she be allowed to live? To work on her dock and to fall and love and be a mother? Why wouldn't she get that chance?

She would only do this in private. To the outside world she was a stone mask, caring only about her home and nothing else. People kept their distance, not wanting to anger the woman and risk getting kicked off of the pier. And if she wanted to be left alone it was the least they could do for the woman who had done so much for them. So they did. That also meant however that the Mariner was on her own. The inhabitants of the makeshift town didn't even know her real name and he last time she had heard her name being called was from her father who grasped at her hand and said, "Alice, please find a way to happy". His voice had come out ragged and destroyed, almost like it was coming from very far away and being fed through a sheen of sand.

Those were the last words that she had ever heard her father speak.

And she still couldn't find anything that made her happy.

That is until he came, ironically enough looking for another woman. She didn't think much of the mainlander. Sure he looked capable enough and he seemed polite enough, willing to lend a hand, (a decidedly un-native trait),. But she mostly ignored him. He was quick to worm his way into her heart though as much as she hated it. He pestered everyone to allow him to help them. Cassie Dalton and the doc were the first to cave, figuring he'd fail and then leave, forgetting his mission for the Kasumi girl and letting the town alone hopefully. He was persistent though and before long Cassie Dalton and Teddy Wright, with the inclusion of a newly healthy Andre Michaud, couldn't stop talking about him. It annoyed Alice to no end how he was turning everyone's opinion around.

But, eventually she saw a use for him. She asked for tools first, intent on repairing the hill damaged during the gulper attack. She sent him off, promising caps and figuring that he would most likely get himself killed. She didn't like to admit it, not even to herself, but she found his cocky attitude and warm smile endearing. When he came back that day with the bag of tools she couldn't help but be shocked. Not only had the mainlander went inland but he came back. She expected him to be swallowed up by the fog and never seen again. She smiled at him, adjusting her glasses before taking the bag and handing over the caps.

"Thanks" she had said simply before he asked if there was anything else she needed. "Come on give me a challenge" he has said, leaning against the wall of her shack, and she couldn't help but giggle. She didn't want to get close to him. She knew that rugged smile and cheerful set of eyes would be the rocks her ship was torn apart by if she did, but she couldn't enjoy his company. There was no problem with occasionally enjoying someone's company. "Ever heard of the Azalea? Well it's a ship Southwest of here, ran aground on a shoal. Bunch of trappers set up not long after. The steel is still in pretty good shape so it would be nice if you could clear out those goons so we could get at it" she had turned back to her work, hoping the man would be off to do what he had to.

"Already did it" he said as he continued to lean against her wall and she turned around shocked, a blank expression on her face. "Yeah came across it not too long ago and decided to check it out. The trappers fired on me and didn't leave me too much of a choice so the place is clear. Send your guys over any time" he said, that same day!need cocky smile on his face.

"I'll do that" she said with a light smile, not able to help the blush that spread across her face when she realized that he was practically checking her out. Not disrespectfully of course but….well women can tell these things.

He left after that, going off to help someone else. It was very quickly that Alice realized she missed him already. So she sought him out, finding him at the Last Plank sharing a drink with Longfellow. The surly old man greeted her with a gruff nod but Frank, as she had learned his name to be stood up and offered her a chair. "Mariner. Come, join us" he had said cheerfully, taking her hand in his and sitting her down before pushing her chair in. He placed a drink in front of her and smiled at her, melting her heart. The other patrons of the bar looked on, not understanding the closeness of the Mariner and the Mainlander. Most were laying bets on when the hard woman would lay him out for how he seemed to lead her around.

She took the drink however and sipped it tentatively, enjoying how Vim tasted. She normally didn't partake but we'll there was something about Frank. She looked at him and smiled, warmly, shocking Mitch and the rest of the bar. "How are you doing Mainlander? I saw that you and Longfellow just got in. Having adventures out there?" She asked, genuinely curious about what he had seen on the island. Longfellow just muttered something about "those damn cultists" under his breath while Frank instantly regalled her with what he and the old man had seen and done.

Others would have called hogwash at half of what Frank said and even Alice would have in the past. Now however ? There was something that was just openly honest about this man who was quickly becoming part of the town.

It wasn't long until she had him off again, searching for Mirelurk carapaces this time to add to the hull. After all, the only thing a mirelurk queen couldn't destroy with her acid was a mirelurk. He returned in record time, shells in hand.

She took them with a smile and paid him his caps, her hand brushing his as he handed over what she asked for. It was enough to make her blush. Then again Frank in himself was enough to make her blush. She thanked him and turned, putting the shells on a crate, ready to push out to the hulk with the construction team.

"When are you going to let me take you out on a date?" He asks, out of the blue and she was shocked that he was even still there.

"Mainlander…" she said simply, not wanting to hurt the only real friend she had on this island. "It's Frank" he said honestly, arms crossed as he continued to look at her. "Frank" she said, for some reason liking his name. It fit him. "You...well that is to say you really don't want to get involved that way with me. Besides you'll be going back to the Commonwealth. Surely there is some girl you're sweet on there?" She asked to which he shook his head quickly.

"No. There's really nothing left for me there. My wife and son….I lost them. But it feels so long ago now" he says, melancholy seeping into his voice before he breaks away and walks toward her. She can't help but back in, being moved against the wall as his hands go to her waist. Her heart is beating at a million miles a minute and she can't help but continue to blush, blinking rapidly as she stares up at the taller man. "Ahh well, I figured I'd have to work very hard for a girl like you. It's worth the challenge though. Nothing given for free in Far Harbor after all but I do think I deserve at least one kiss" he says with a smile to which Alice the Mariner is speechless.

"Okay" she said, shocked at hearing the words exit from her own mouth. She asked herself what she was doing. This was not good. She couldn't have feelings or fall in love but here she was allowing this Mainlander...Frank, she corrected herself, to kiss her.

He's quick though, and leans in, his hand going to the side of her face as he presses his lips against hers, gently of course and begins to massage her lower lip with his own. She can't help it and despite having no prior experience she leans in, her lithe body melding into his chest as her hand goes to his face, enjoying the feeling of his stubble against her fingers. This lasts many minutes and when he pulls back, finally needing air, she continues to follow him, leaning her face in more and more as if she wanted to re-initiate contact.

"Wow" he says simply, worrying the usually uncaring Mariner. "What is it?" She asks, her fist resting on his chest as she hopes that he didn't find her kissing skills lacking, despite that having been her very first kiss.

He smiles down at her , pushing off her cap and exposing her dark head of hair. His fingers quickly stroke through it, almost as if he was massaging her head, the strands curling around her finger and being brushed out. She had no idea why she loved the feeling but her eyes close again dn she can't help but moan. "Nothing, I was just thinking that I am going to win you at all costs" he says, pecking her cheek again before letting her go and walking off, that damned smile undoubtedly playing on his face.

She feels a mixture of things. First and foremost arousal. The man walked up, kissed her and touched her like he already had her. There was something innately sexy about that to the inexperienced woman. The second was anger. How dare he kiss her?! But she did give him permission so the anger dies away quickly to be replaced by sadness. She had to distance herself from him. She couldn't allow herself to get hurt. Not when her life was so short as it was. So she kept her distance.

It lasted two days. Two days of brushing him off and ignoring him. She saw the sad look on his face when she would walk by him without a word and it killed her. She was doing this to protect herself. She didn't realize that it would hurt him. She had assumed he was just after a quick lay having been told by her late mother before she died that all men were the same and that they all wanted just that.

He did the captain's dance. Defeating a mirelurk queen and bringing back it's meat. She wanted to scream at him, chastise him for being so reckless but when he came back in she was speechless. The town was celebrating him and when she saw him approaching her and asked for her hand to dance with him, the whole town collectively let out a whoop of cheers and catcalls, and it isn't long until she finds her hand moving itself into his and she stands up. His other hand quickly goes to her waist and before long she is being twirled about the dock, Mitch playing his fiddle and the rest clapping along in tandem. Other couples join and dance alongside them but Frank remains fixated on her, his eyes staring deeply into hers.

The dance goes on for a long time. Or at the very least what felt like a long time to the woman. But the music dies down and claps are heard echoing about the dock, the fog off in the distance reflecting the glow of the fog condensers in a way that illuminates the dock.

He leads her back to a seat and sits down beside her, his hand lacing into her own. Her heart is one again hammering in her chest, forcing her to take a deep breath. "I did it for you. I didn't want you to ignore me" he whispers into her ear, making the goosebumps break out all along her skin. He had done that for her?

Killing a giant crab might not be a sign of affection and love in the commonwealth. Hell it might not be such a thing anywhere. But here, in Far Harbor, all young men seeking to court a young woman had to kill some form of beast. The bigger and more dangerous the beast the more the boy was said to love the girl. Frank didn't know about this tradition but it had been a long standing tradition on the island. An unspoken one of course.

She couldn't help it. Hearing that brought all the girlhood dreams of hers about love to life and she can't help but kiss him, harshly and passionately, her hands moving to keep him in place. She wanted him. Ohh God she wanted him. The action elicited surprise from the man she was now kissing and howls of appreciation from up and down the dock. When she let him go she had to fix her glasses which had went askew in her desperation to get her face close to his. Frank just smiled, a dopey grin spreading across his face as he hugged the girl close to him, plopping her into his lap. She was happy to be there and couldn't help but lay her head on his shoulder.

The rest of the party passed quickly and when it finally wound down the mostly drunk partiers had shambled off to wherever they were to try and rest their soon to be aching heads. Frank smiled at woman who was still perched in his lap, smiling contentedly at how she seemed so comfortable. "Didn't realize you were part cat" he whispers teasingly into her ear. She stirs, lightly, before opening her eyes and looking up at him. "I didn't realize you were so comfortable to sit on" she says , her hand rubbing at his chest. "I should get you to bed" he says lovingly as she shakes her head. "No" she coos, the alcohol making her much more fun according to him. "I sleep here" she adds to which Frank rolls his eyes and stands, his arms scooping up under the surprisingly light woman as he begins to carry her towards her home.

"Okay, you can carry me" she says making him laugh. "Yes captain" he says to which she is quick to reply, "I'm not the captain, you are. Captain's dance. Killed a mirelurk queen for me" she says nuzzle against his chest cutely. He was glad he had exchanged his vault suit for the softer flannel and overalls popular in Far Harbor. After all, he doubted that she would prefer the coarse rubber of the vault suit to the softness of flannel. He smiles and kisses her forehead as he gets to her shack at the head of the entrance to the pier before setting her down on the bed.

He smiles as he sees her cuddle up into the pillow and brushes her hair out of her eyes before moving away. "Don't go" he hears her, mutter and turns to see her sitting up in the bed, glasses askew and the strap of her overalls falling off her shoulder. "Stay here. Lay down with me" she says, almost pleading within her voice. He can't help it and he nods, refusing to tell her no but also refusing to take advantage of her in her drunken state. He steps out of his boots and then his overalls, leaving him in only his flannel and his boxers. It's covered in mirelurk so he removed his flannel as well, exposing his toned chest and standing in front of her in just his boxers.

She smiles, her eyes roving over him before she hiccups, kicking off her own boots and wiggling out of her coveralls, exposing her long toned legs and the surprising pair of lacy red panties she was wearing. Her sweater is quick to follow and it's too late until Frank realizes that she isn't wearing a bra, forgetting that certain garments restricted work necessary for fishing. She pulls it up over her head, exposing her surprisingly large breasts. Frank blushes profusely as he sees them, never having seen a pair quite that large. She smiles and turns to him, not seeming to notice her nudity. "What? You don't like my breasts?" She asks, hiccuping again as she looks about to cry.

Alcohol and especially Vim was one hell of a thing Frank thought as he rushed for damage control. "No not at all they're, well beautiful just like the rest of you Mariner" he says, keeping his distance until he knew he would be able to control himself. "Call me Alice please baby" she coos, leaning against the pillow on her side, patting the bed for him to come and lay down. He nods, finally happy to know her real name, even if she had to get drunk to tell him. He acquiesced and moves toward the, motioning for her to move towards the wall so he could take the outside. That was always his way. He had to protect a woman and be able to be the first out if something were to happen.

She nods happily and moves over, her butt scooching across the mattress before she lays on her side and looked expectantly at him. He smiled and got into the bed, happy to be out of the chilly island air. The warm body that clings to him as soon as he says down is also welcome. The fact that it is Alice is even greater. The blanket is pulled up and tucked around the sides of the two, forcing them even closer. Frank feels her breasts pressed against his chest and can't help the smile and light moan of pleasure that escapes his lips at the feeling. Alice just looks at him, her hand snaking up to rub at his shoulder while his go to her practically bare waist, pulling him close to himself. It isn't long until they are kissing, the remnants of alcohol tasted on both of their lips but much more with the Mariner. She giggles and smiles, two things she can't seem to stop doing.

"What?" he asks curiously, a laugh in his own voice. "Something on just face" he asks to which she shakes her head no and kisses him, nuzzling his nose with her own. "Just thinking. You killed a mirelurk queen" she says, surprisingly able to string her sentences together quite nicely even while drunk. He nods and strokes her air,both unable to refrain from touching each other's face and kissing each other lightly on the cheek or nose. "In Far Harbor that means you want to marry a girl" she says her eyes closing, as sleep quickly attempts to claim her. Frank smiles and nods, happy St the revelation.

"Well what if I do?" He asks to which she sleepily responds, "I would say yes". Her snores are the only thing that follows as she wraps her arms tightly around him having the favor returned quickly enough. For Frank sleep quickly followed. It had been a very long day after all.

The next morning saw many things. A shocked Mariner who was at first very angry at the man sleeping in her bed. Her first thought was that he had taken advantage of her drunken state but she found that her panties were still on and so we're this boxers. She didn't know much about sex but she knew that it usually required such garments to be gone. She calmed down instantly, not wanting to make a scene. She had undoubtedly drank too much the night before and invited him into her bed. She doubted either one of them wanted to go to bed with their dirty clothes and as she woke up more and more the events of the previous night came back and she remembered how she had acted towards Frank.

This was all wrong. She was dying. She couldn't put him through the hurt that it would inevitably entail if she allowed him to fall in love with her. The problem was that she had already fallen in love with him. She knew it would only hurt her, but to have experienced love was also a great experience. The best if she was being honest. And with Frank it was superb. A better feeling than a good fishing trip or a cold glass of Vim. Laying here with him, his arms around her, she had to think that this was what Heaven looked and felt like to her. His snoring became lighter and lighter until his eyes fluttering open and she can't help but smile as his eyes instantly land on hers. "Morning" he says getting a meek, "Morning" back from her.

"You know you're beautiful every time of day. It's strange. Almost unnatural" he says teasingly to which she blushes and can't help but lean in and kiss him once more. "We have to stop this Frank. I…..I haven't been telling you the truth. I'm dying Frank" she said this with fear in her voice. She didn't want to ruin what they had or make him angry with her but she was totally afraid of doing just that. "What?" He asked nervously, sitting up in the bed. "What do you mean? There has to be something we can do" he says making to get out of the bed and rush to her aid in however way he thought he could.

She stops him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to the bed. "No Frank. I've…...tried everything and studied as much as I can. Even Dr. Wright said he couldn't help. It's incurable, even before the war. It's taken everyone in my family Frank. It's in my genes" she says stroking the side of his face, feeling his sadness and frustration pooling off of him. He takes her hand and kisses it, rubbing it between his fingers. "I don't care Alice. I….I love you and I want to be with you be it for five days or fifty years. Marry me?" He asks as he holds her hand, his other going to her waist.

She's shocked. Utterly shocked. He still wanted her? After all that? And not just for sex but to be her husband? To be there during the inevitable pain and suffering, to hold her hand and comfort here when the time comes? She's shocked. She has no words but as usual when he's around she answers without thinking. "Yes" she says, leading to him smiling as wide as he possibly can, before leaning in and capturing her lips with his own. It's gentle and when he releases her they are left staring into each other's eyes. It's not enough though and some fire had been stoked, leading to both instantly coming back together, a flurry of movement leading to Alice being laid on her back as Frank kisses up and down her neck, his hands pressing caressing, fondling and groping at her breasts. It isn't long until his mouth moves downwards and he is eagerly suckling at her , forcing her to arch her back as she feels the pleasure that is given by simply licking at her nipple.

It isn't long until they are both naked and he is driving into her, making her moan and feel things she always thought were out of her reach and her hands

Sex was amazing. She never thought it would be this good but being made one with Frank was something that she couldn't compare to anything. It was just so far out of her realm of experience and as she lay there, again in Frank's arms. "That was amazing" she said to which Frank kisses her head, inhaling the scent of her hair as he does so. "No. You are amazing Alice" he says, making her shiver as she loved hearing the sound of her name on his lips. "You're just saying that because I have large breasts" she coos to which Frank smiles and leans in, kissing the top of her breast as he does. "Although I do love your breasts, it's because they are attached to you, not the other way around" causing her to smile and pull him close.

"We should go Avery. You said you'd marry me and I wanted you to be my wife when we did what we did but I don't regret a damn thing" he says with a smile which is returned before it gave way to a frown. "Frank if you do marry me, it's not going to spend beautifully. We aren't going to have a happy ending and it'll end with me dying. Are you sure you want to be there for that? Put yourself through that pain just for me?" She asks, tears threatening to cascade down her face at the thought of what he would go through. He smiles sadly and takes her hand.

"Alice, I promise and swear to almighty God that I will marry you and love you, even after death parts us. I will be there for what will undoubtedly be many happy moments and the sad ones two. I will be there for the rest of your life Alice" he says making her melt with the conviction of his voice. She eagerly jumps up, pulling on her clothes as she urges him to do the same.

"Come in, were going to see Avery and make me an honest woman then we set out on my ship. We're going to kill the red death and then you're going to make love to me on my deck." She says, pulling on her boots

He nods, also jumping out of bed and dressing ecstatic that the sad mood is forgotten and the idea of taking his wife on her ship. He only had one question. What was this Red Death that sounded so dangerous?

_**Four Years Later**_

Her breathing was labored and came harshly, almost as if it had to be forced out. Her skin was sallow and sweat formed a sheen over it as she laid in their bed, dressed in her nightgown. Frank sat beside her, his fingers gently laced through her own. She turns in the bed and swallows, the pain obvious in her facial expressions. "Frank?" She asks to which he instantly leans in and answers. "Yes baby I'm right here. What is it?"

She smiles sadly, bringing her hand up to his face as she rubs it gently, and works to prop herself up. "Tell me the truth. Did I….make you happy?" She asks, to which Frank kauhs gently. "The happiest I've ever been love" he responds and it's the truth. Over the last four years Alice and Frank had been inseparable, ever since the day she had agreed to marry him. Avery and the rest of the town turned out to witness the nuptials and as she took his hands and each recited their vows all cheered loudly, even Allen Lee and his sister Sandra, usually loners with strong opinions.

They went out and bought the Red Death, which turned out to be a tiny mirelurk instead of the great monster they had been expecting. They didn't tell anyone the truth about the creature, it would have been embarrassing. But they didn't go back to harbor instantly either, instead taking the time to make love multiple times on the deck of Alice's ship leading to the both of them coming back positively glowing. There was so much happiness as they explored the island and added to the town, making it as secure as can be. The wall was named after her, "Mariners Hull" in her honor, at the insistence of Frank of course.

They danced, drank and loved with the passion of a burning sun. This sun however, could not burn forever and it burned itself out quicker than either hoped. It happened one night when Alice was washing dishes deciding early on to be as much of a housewife as she could to her pre-war husband even though he told her she did not have to do such a thing. She was washing a plate when all the sudden was overtaken by a coughing fit, and blood soon came up. Frank and seen, having come up behind her as soon as he heard her start coughing.

She tried to convince him and herself that it was a one time thing. Just a fluke. She just ate something, she had told him. He didn't believe her and he was quick to start mothering her, making sure she didn't overstrain herself and even going as far as to try and use different veins of stimpak to heal her affliction. None of it worked and it quickly became worse and worse leading to her being confined to bed. Frank did everything he could but in the end even Dr. Wright had told him there was nothing he could do.

That led to him sitting her and holding her hand, doing whatever he could do to make her happy.

She felt herself falling more and more in love with him as she saw how he stood by her and fought every step of the way against death, even when she had given up the fight, knowing that it was impossible. She only put on a brave face for Frank, not wanting to let him give up either.

The fact that she had made him happy though, that put her at peace because he had certainly made her happy. He had made the last four years of life the most important and the most fulfilling.

For her though, even though she wanted to spend another eighty years with her husband she knew her time was limited, perhaps in minutes. She kisses him, using much of her remaining energy to lean up and press her lips against his before falling back. "You have made me happier than I've ever been Frank", she says, beginning to sound airy to him, her voice taking on an far away tone. "But I'm afraid it looks like our time is done. I wish it was forever my love but it isn't" she says, stopping to cough as she steadies herself before continuing. "I'm dying love but I don't want this to be the end for you. You've lost so much. Two wives and a son. You deserve happiness my love. I want you to fall in love and spend the rest of your life spoiling your new wife and having the babies we couldn't. No moping. Do you understand me?" She says warningly as he smiles, tears leaking out of his eyes and trailing down his face.

"Sweetheart don't ….don't say that. You are the one who deserves to live. I'm so sorry that I failed to.."

She stops him instantly , not allowing him to blame himself for her sickness.

"This is not your fault Frank. This was always my lot. The island had it down that I would die of this sickness and die alone. You saved me from the island by making sure I wasn't alone and…..I was loved. By you. It was more than just was supposed to get and to me it was worth the world. So don't you dare feel that way" she says with a warning tone. It was amazing how fierce she could be, even while dying.

"As for what I said you will wait two months after I am gone and then you will go and talk to Sandra Lee. I...well I saw the way she looked at you, even from the moment you stepped on the dock. She told me that she was always jealous about how you fell for me and that she wished you would've come to Allen's shop first and seen her" she says with a laugh as she caresses his hand.

"When you see her, tell her you want to go for a walk with her. Let things go where they go from there. She already loves you so all that needs to happen is for you to fall for her. When you do, marry her and name your first girl after me. You understand?" She asks to which Frank nods, numbed by what was happening.

"Good. If you're taken care of Frank I know I can leave without any doubts or regrets. Now….lay down with me?" She asks, wanting to be held. Frank smiles and eagerly climbs into their bed, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. "I love you Frank" she says to which he leans in and cries, unable to contain his tears. "I love you too Alice".

Two hours later the Mariner died in his arms.

_**Twelve Years Later**_

He stood at the grave, just smiling as he placed the flowers down at the cross. The word Mariner was written cross the middle beam accompanied by the words beloved wife and friend.

"Little Alice caught a fish the other day" he says, dressed in his long black coat, willed to him by the late Longfellow. In fact Frank had started to look alot like the late loner. Grey ran through his once dark hair and his face had become much more wise, the sea salt adding to the aging.

"Little Olivia too. She's four now. Can you believe it Alice? These kids will be the death of me. All seven of them" he says laughing and looking back towards his house visible from the graveyard. He sees the light on, watching as Sandra holds little Preston close and kisses his head, burping him as she bounces him gently up and down.

His mind drifts to his relationship with his third wife. She was there for him after he lost Alice, quietly and soothing, the direct opposite of her brother. Sandra was easy to love and even though he fought it for a long time he found himself drawn to the blonde. Before long they were married and happily so. Sandra was an amazing wife and an amazing mother who never seemed to tire of lovemaking or having children.

In fact he often thought that she was on a mission to repopulate the island by herself. If he had walked into Allen's store that day and first spoken with her he knew that most likely he would have been with her from the start but fate has such strange ideas.

He lights a cigarette, only being able to do so when he was south of his wife's sight, having to hide the evidence. "Sandra and I are doing amazing. We just celebrated our Eleventh anniversary and she has been teasing me that she thinks we have another one the way" he says chuckling before sitting and leaning in, kissing the cross.

"I love you Alice. Everyday hurts without you and one day, I'll see you again. I love you baby" he says, getting up and taking a bottle of Vim from his pack, pouring it out onto the soil, always doing so when he visited her grave.

He smiles, wipes away and tear and says "I'll be back tomorrow baby. I'll bring little Ally too" he says, knowing that his daughter always loved hearing about her "Aunt Alice" who was married to daddy first. Sandra took all this in jovial spirits. She had always been a friend of the Mariner and would find herself smiling at memories of her old friend even though she had been secretly jealous of her. She never competed with her. They both married the same man and he loved them both in different ways but the fact was that he loved them so much. Nora, Shaun, Alice. They were gone, but would never be forgotten.

As he walked away, the voice of Sandra calling him in for dinner, a breeze rolled through the graveyard, pushing leaves along the ground. If you listened closely it was almost as if a voice was whispering, "I love you too".


End file.
